1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns fishing reels of the type with a fixed spool and a line recovery device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In this type of reel a spool is carried by a support shaft whose posterior part is held in a reel body. The spool is a part substantially in the shape of a solid of revolution made up of radially extending anterior and posterior flanges linked by a smaller diameter cylindrical hub extending axially between the flanges and forming a peripheral groove in which the fishing line is stowed. The spool support shaft is reciprocated longitudinally by a handle and a mechanical transmission device. A flyer carrying a retractable laying finger is mounted to rotate on the reel body and is rotated by the handle and the mechanical transmission device.
These reels with a fixed spool and a line recovery device include enclosed spool reels and enclosing spool reels.
In enclosed spool reels the spool slides in a hollow cylindrical housing in the flyer. The drawback of this old technology is the risk of the fishing line entering the space between the flyer and the posterior flange of the spool. If this happens the line can become wound at least partially around the spool support shaft behind the spool, which damages it and very seriously compromises the operation of the reel.
An enclosed spool reel is described in document FR-A-1 027 031. In this document the posterior flange of the spool comprises a peripheral annular groove in which is mounted a elastic steel ring whose outside diameter is greater than the diameter of the posterior flange. The outside peripheral surface of the ring is smooth, cylindrical and free of protrusions. The inside surface of the cylindrical side wall of the flyer is also cylindrical and smooth and free of longitudinal grooves. If the ring is presised against the wall of the flyer because of its elasticity, the resulting friction can compromise correct operation of the reel. On the other hand, if the ring is held away from the wall of the flyer because of its elasticity there is a circular gap between the ring and the wall of the recovery device. The line can enter this gap. For this reason the operation of a device of this kind is not satisfactory.
Document US-A-4 778 124 describes an enclosed spool reel having a more complex structure with rotary rollers and means for guiding rotation and longitudinal movement in translation of the rollers. This solution requires many additional components and significantly increases the overall size of the reel. Also, the rollers impede demounting of the spool.
Documents FR-A-918 571, US-A-2 643 828, US-A-2 973 916 and FR-A-861 383 describe other solutions in which flexible members such as disks, wires or brushes are accommodated in the Space between the posterior flange of the spool and the Cylindrical part of the flyer. All these solutions lead to friction between the spool and the flyer, varying with the axial position of the spool and impeding free rotation of the recovery device. The friction leads to non-negligible wear of the wires or brushes, which have to be replaced from time to time.
For these reasons the enclosed spool technology has been progressively abandoned in favor of the enclosing spool technology, whereby the spool comprises a rear flange with a skirt enclosing an inside cylindrical part of the flyer. The enclosing rear skirt reduces very significantly the risk of the fishing line getting between the flyer and the spool. However, a structure of this kind also reduces the usable diameter of the spool relative to the overall diameter of the reel and imposes greater mechanical loads on the line because of the smaller spool diameter.
The problem to which the present invention is addressed is that of designing a new fishing reel structure which has the advantages of greater compactness and smaller mechanical loads on the line combined with the use of an enclosed spool, great simplicity, a small number of components and easy demounting of the spool, and which effectively eliminates the risk of the line getting between the flyer and the posterior flange of the spool.
The problem is that a relatively large clearance is needed between the cylindrical peripheral wall of the flyer and the peripheral edge of the posterior flange of the spool. This clearance is particularly large in the case of a molded plastics material flyer, the inside surface of the peripheral wall of the flyer being necessarily conical and widening towards the exterior to facilitate removing it from the mold. The clearance between the peripheral wall of the recovery device and the peripheral edge of the posterior flange of the spool therefore varies with the longitudinal position of the spool relative to the reel body.
The invention is based on the observation that the risk of the fishing line entering the gap which is necessarily present between the spool and the recovery device results from the circular shape of this gap, which is similar to the shape which the line can assume if random movements occur during use of the reel. The present invention is directed to changing the shape of the gap or clearance between the spool and the flyer to form chicanes impeding entry of the line.